Winter Hains Point 5k

Well, I posted a couple weeks ago that one of my goals for 2020 was to do more local races.  And the first one was supposed to be the Winter Hains Point 5k on January 26th.  Sadly, the race didn't happen but I did want to share the experience.  I'm joining Fairytales and Fitness for their Friday link up to talk about how the morning went.

So we had found a cheap hotel room downtown and stayed there Saturday night.  This was Mike's first 5k that he had trained for so I wanted to make it as easy as possible.  We had an early dinner and an early night so we would be refreshed for the morning.

 

And some wine tasting with dinner

The race started at 8am and was only a 10 minute Lyft ride away.  We got up at 6:30 and called the car at 7:15.  So we were at the race start by 7:30.  There was no packet pick up in advance so we had to pick up that morning.  But it went smoothly and we were able to get our bibs and shirts with no problem.  Of course, we had no where to put the shirts so we just wore them over our existing shirts and under our jackets.

 

The shirt design is pretty cute, with runners going past the Lincoln Memorial statue

It was cold that day but not too bad.  It was in the low 30s but with a feels like temperature in the mid 20s. The race was a 5k and 10k, and I had looked up the course in advance so knew that the 10k was just 2 looks of the 5k course.  We realized that something was probably wrong when we saw the police talking to the race organizers right at the 8am start time.  Long story short, it turns out that the course was flooded from the rain the day before.

The race organizers knew that and had planned an altered course to avoid the flooded area.  This would have been a shorter course that would be 2 loops for the 5k and 4 loops for the 10k.  It would have been kind of congested but fine.  Unfortunately, that's not what their permit was set up for.  The police were indicating that they couldn't let the race go on the altered course.  This was all explained to the runners at 8am, i.e. the time the race should have started.

 Pretty sunrise while we waited

The organizers were trying to work with the police to get approval from their supervisors for the altered course.  But there was still no answer by 8:20.  And by that point, we had already been waiting in the cold for 50 minutes.  We pulled up Google Maps and saw that it would be about 2.5 miles back to our hotel in a pretty scenic part of the city.  I realized we could just add some more scenic sections and make it our own 5k while heading back to the hotel.  So that's what we decided to do.  And we ended up throwing out any thoughts of racing for time given our cold muscles and the fact that I knew we'd have to stop and check the map a couple times on the way.

So we just had fun, took photos, and enjoyed the morning as we did our own, personal 5k.  We did pretty well with the course as we hit 3.1 miles when we were only 4 miles away from the hotel. And then we still had plenty of time to get dressed and make it to our brunch reservation in time!

 

Yum!  The brunch buffet had lots of salads as well as grapefruit brulee, and roasted carrots

We definitely made the right decision because the race did end up cancelled after they were not able to get approval to change the course.  The race company did email us a code that we could use for free registration at one of their other races this year so that wasn't a complete loss either.

Here are some photos of the sights we saw during our run.

So even though the race didn't work out, I think we made the best of the situation and still had fun!  And I guess that's a good lesson for Mike as someone new to races. You can't control all the factors on race day but you can make the best of what the day gives you.

Pike's Peek 10k Training Week 1

I hope everyone had a good weekend!  My week went pretty well, and I got in my 4 planned runs and some strength training.  Here are the details for last week.

Monday - Yoga from Runner's World

Tuesday -  Strength Training with a fitness blender video

Wednesday - 2 mile run after work

Thursday - Rest day

Friday - 3 mile run

Saturday - 2.5 mile run

Sunday - 5k race scenic fun run

The 5k we were signed up for was cancelled due to flooding on the course.  Since we were downtown anyway we decided to make it a fun, scenic run by the monuments instead.  I'll post more about this later in the week.

So that was my week!  The runs were all toward the end but they were short runs so it worked out ok.  Here's the plan for this week.

Monday - Rest day
Tuesday - Speed work (1 mile warm up, 4 x 100 meters, 1 mile cool down)
Wednesday - Strength training
Thursday - 3 miles on treadmill after work
Friday - Strength training
Saturday - 3.5 miles
Sunday - 4.5 miles

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown!

 

Chickpea Flour Omelet

This week has been speeding by!  I'm sure that's because Monday was a holiday so it's only 4 days of work this week.  I did get back to meal planning this week too so I have breakfasts and lunch taken care of to bring to work.  One of the things I've discovered that I enjoy when I'm in a mood for savory breakfasts is a Chickpea Flour Omelet.  It's one of the things my mom used to make for me a lot when I was a kid too so it definitely has some nostalgia to it.  And in addition to being vegan, it's also gluten free!

I started with this recipe from Vegan Richa. I also asked my mom for her recipe but she never actually measures ingredients and instead cooks by feel, so the recipe I ended up with is a combination of the two.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
2/3 cup chickpea flour
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
Red chili flakes to taste
1 teaspoon oil
2/3 cup water
Vegetables to taste - I added chopped onion, green pepper, tomatoes and peas as well as grated ginger.

 

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.  Add the spices and the water, whisk until there are no lumps in the batter.  Let it sit for at least an hour.

Add vegetables to the batter and mix.

Heat a non-stick pan on medium high with a teaspoon of oil.  Spread a ladle of the batter and cook for 5 minutes.  Flip and cook for another few minutes until golden brown.  Complete with the rest of the batter.

And that's it!  I like to eat mine like a sandwich, by putting one of the omelets in between two pieces of toast with some ketchup.  But they're definitely delicious on their own too!  And it's a healthy, savory start to the morning.  It definitely kept me full until lunch time.

This was my first attempt at making them.  You can experiment until it gets to the texture and taste that suits you.  I decided that I like them a little thinner than the above and cooked a little longer.

Any other options for savory breakfasts that you've been into lately?

Weekly Review

I hope everyone had a great week!  This week seemed really long for some reason but overall it went well.  I got in my 3 runs and two strength training sessions.  Here are the details for the week.

Monday - Rest day plus 1 mile walk at work since there was still some warm-ish weather

Tuesday - Strength training with a fitness blender video.  This one was tough and I definitely felt sore the next day.

Wednesday - 3 mile run in the morning before work.

Thursday - Rest day plus going out to see some friends at a happy hour in the evening.

Friday - 40 minute run in the afternoon.  It was cold and windy and I think I ran too soon after lunch, since my stomach wasn't too happy.  But it got done.  I had planned to meet up with some friends for a birthday celebration in the evening but didn't really feel up to it so Mike went on his own.

Saturday - Strength training at home.  This was supposed to be a snowy/icy day so we planned to stay in all day just in case.  It ended up just being rainy but it was nice to have a quiet day at home any way.  We ended up binging the first season of the Witcher on Netflix.

Sunday - 3 miles on the treadmill at the gym.  We had initially planned to run outside but the wind was pretty biting so we called it and went for the indoor option.

So that was last week.  I'm starting official training for my 10k race in April next week so I've got a plan and I'm not just winging it and doing what I feel like any more.  This week looks like it's going to be cold too so it may involve more indoor workouts.  But here's the plan for now.

Monday - Strength training
Tuesday - Running on the treadmill at the gym
Wednesday - Strength training
Thursday - Rest day
Friday - Running
Saturday - Running
Sunday - Running

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown!

 

2020 Races

One of my goals for the year was to get back to doing more races, especially local and/or low cost races.  So I've begun researching for the first half of the year to get some races on my calendar. 

I'm joining Fairytales and Fitness for their Friday link up and talk about what I have so far!

January - 2020 Winter Hains Point 5k.  The first race will be next weekend!  It's a local 5k that was only $25.  It's in DC and down by the river so hopefully it will have some pretty scenery.  Mike and I are doing this one together since it is at the point in his training plan where he's gotten to 3 miles.

February - Kensington Park Run.  I've discovered that there's a park run really close to me!  So I'm planning to check them out some point in February.  It is a 5k every Saturday and it's free. 

March - Montgomery County Road Runner's Piece of Cake 5k - I did this one several years ago.  It's hilly and often rainy but it's  a fun race.  It's also the club's anniversary so there's always cake afterward :)  It's also free for club members.

 

 

From when I did this race back in 2015

April - Star Wars 5k and 10k at Disney World.  This is the big race Mike is training for!  This one, of course, is neither local or low cost but I'm sure it will be lots of fun.

I'm also doing a 10k for time in April, the Pike's Peek 10k.  I did this race a couple years ago but the course has changed a bit since then so I'm looking forward to it.  It's really close to my house so the logistics shouldn't be too bad, even though it's a point to point.  And they always have a fun after party with lots of food.

 

 

2015 is the last time I did this race too

May - Memorial 4 Miler - This is another road runner's race that's free to members.  It's also less than half a mile from my house.  I did it a couple years ago and just jogged over to the start as my warm up.  

June - Suds and Soles 5k - This is a local 5k that I haven't tried yet!  I've always been out of town this weekend for some reason but I should be in town this year.  This is an evening race and has lots of local craft breweries at the after party.  

So those are my race plans for the first half of the year!  I'd love to hear what you have coming up :)

Weekly Review

Last week was certainly interesting.  In addition to being the first full week at work after the holidays, we had a partial snow day and then a weekend with temperatures in the 60s.  I only got in two runs thanks to not feeling that well in the middle of the week.  But I did get in some strength training and some yoga in addition to the 2 runs, so I feel ok about the week.  Here are the details.

Monday - Strength training with a fitness blender video.

Tuesday - Planned rest day plus coming home early to avoid the snow.

Wednesday to Thursday - unplanned rest days since I wasn't feeling that well.  I'm pretty sure it's because I made a poor food safety choice and ate something I shouldn't have.

Friday - 3 mile run plus yoga

Saturday - Planned rest day as we had people over at our house for a movie day.  Of course this involved spending the morning doing some cooking and cleaning.  I did get a 1 mile walk in and was able to enjoy the warm weather before the rain started.

Sunday - 5.4 mile run plus some recovery yoga

 

Full Winter gear on Friday's run and bare arms on Sunday!

So that was my week.  Here's the plan for this week.

Monday - Rest day 

Tuesday - Strength training

Wednesday - 3 mile run

Thursday - Rest day

Friday - 3 mile run

Saturday -Spin and strength training

Sunday - 6 mile run

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown!

 

2020 Goals

The first full work week of 2020 is almost done!  It's seemed like a long week but I did take some time to think about my goals for 2020.  I'm joining Fairytales and Fitness for their Friday link up and talk about how my plans for 2020.

1. Half marathon - I haven't run a half since December of 2018, more than a year!  I want to get back to half marathon shape and run one this year.

 

Fun half in Baltimore in December 2018

2. More local races - I hardly did any races at all last year, to be honest.  I did the Disney Marathon in January and the 10k in Annapolis in June.  That was it.  And I think that was the right choice for me last year, but I know I've always enjoyed the race atmosphere.  I want to get back to doing more races this year.  And that doesn't mean spending a ton of money.  I have several low cost or free local races that I should take advantage of.

 

May 2018 was the last time I did a local race!

3. More blogging- Yikes!  Work has been pretty busy and for a lot of last year, I only had one blog post per week.  And that's just been my weekly review.  I want to get back to posting 2-3 times per week this year.

4. 6 non-fiction books - I've been doing this one a couple years in a row but I really like it so I'm keeping it for 2020.  It motivates me to read more non-fiction then I would otherwise read.  I'm currently working on reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

5. Continue food prep and record recipes - I was pretty good about food prep toward the end of last year and I want to continue that this year.  I also want to make sure I start posting about recipes I like so that I can find them again in the future.  I would like to post a recipe to the blog at least once per month.

So those are my goals for 2020!  The start of a new year is always exciting and full of possibility, I hope to keep the motivation going throughout the year :)  I'd love to hear about any goals you have for the year.

Wendesday Musings

I hope everyone is have a good week so far!  The days seem to be crawling by for me but I'm sure it's because this is the fist full week at work I've had in a while due to the holidays.  But 2020 is still starting out well!  So I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about a couple things I'm thankful for!

The first is that my work place is so flexible.  We had snow yesterday, and of course, the worst of it was going to be during the evening commute.  I was able to leave work around 1pm so I could be home before the snow started and just finish working from home.  We didn't get a lot of accumulation but the snow was definitely coming down hard at points and the visibility was poor.

I'm also thankful for starting a new year in running!  I'm not setting any mileage goals this year but I love this fun tracker I found online.  It's free to download and print, and you can color in each mile you run.  They have a 500 mile, 1000 mile, 500k and 1000k option.  Of course my official tracker is still garmin but I thought this was a fun little crafty project for the year.

Lastly, I'm happy to not be traveling for a while.  I always feel a bit exhausted after the holiday travel.  This week is the Disney Marathon and I've been seeing a lot of posts from people heading down to Florida for the races.  I thought I'd experience some FOMO but mostly I'm happy to be able to stay at home and settle back into a routine this year.  Good luck to everyone running the races!

How about you all, things you're grateful for to start out the year?

Weekly Review

I hope everyone had a good week last week!  It was a little strange with a holiday in the middle, but I'm not complaining about having that extra day off work :)  It also helped with being able to get in all my planned workouts.  Here are some details on the week.

Monday - Rest day

Tuesday - 3 mile run.  I got off work early so was able to get in my run with some sun set views.  We also had a friend come by our house for a nice, quiet New Years Eve at home.

Wednesday - 3 mile run. New Years Day and a day off work!  We got in our run in the morning so that we could do brunch afterward.  It ended up being a two brunch day, with pajama brunch on our own in the morning at a local restaurant and then going to a friend's house for a brunch gathering she was hosting.  It was a great way to start 2020!

Thursday - Rest day plus 30 minutes on the treadmill desk at work.  And we got together with some friends with a post work happy hour.

Friday - Strength training at home plus a 1.5 mile walk in the afternoon.

Saturday - Yoga plus a 1 mile walk.  I also met up with a friend to watch the new Little Women movie.  We both really enjoyed it.

View from my walk near the movie theater

Sunday - 4.75 mile run.  I meant to go for 5 miles but it was cold and windy!  I would usually run around on the street in front of my house until I hit 5 but I just wanted to get inside and out of the wind by that point.  We also had a friend visiting DC from Ohio so met up with her and her husband for brunch.  This was a brunch heavy week!

So that was my week!  It included lots of fun time with friends and that was definitely appreciated. But now, the holidays are over and it's back to the routine with a full week at work.  Here's the plan for this week.

Monday - Strength training 

Tuesday - 3 mile run

Wednesday - Strength training

Thursday - 3 mile run

Friday - Rest Day

Saturday - Rest Day

Sunday - 5.5 mile run

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown!